LOCAL
Wallowa.com
Wallowa sites featured
on new coalition map
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA COUNTY
— A pair of preserved land
parcels within Wallowa
County are part of a new map
highlighting protected lands
throughout Oregon.
The new “The Oregon I
Am” map, which was released
by the Coalition of Oregon
Land Trusts, “highlights 81
diff erent locations throughout
the state that anyone can visit,
all of them made possible in
part by Oregon’s system of
nonprofi t land trusts,” a press
release from COLT states.
Among the land on the
map are the Zumwalt Prairie
Preserve and the East Moraine
above Wallowa Lake in Wal-
lowa County.
The preserve is 33,000
acres of land in the northeast
portion of the county, while
the moraine covers about
1,800 acres near the lake. A
major part of the project is
awareness — letting residents
throughout the state know
about these locations.
“Not a lot of people know
about it,” Kelley Beamer,
COLT executive director, told
the Chieftain. “It’s been pro-
tected for the public. Having
it on the map reminds peo-
ple it’s this vast, majestic prai-
rie that changes every season.
We wanted to celebrate that
property.
“The East Moraine is a
symbol of community com-
ing together to make sure that
landscape is protected.”
In all, the 81 locations
encompass more than 100,000
acres of land in the state. The
coalition includes 30 nonprof-
its from throughout the state,
including the Wallowa Land
Trust.
“Many of their properties,
or properties they’ve helped
conserve, have been open to
the public for years. But only
now have they been compiled
in one place and all of them
visible on one map,” Beamer
said in the release. “This is
your go-to resource to dis-
cover a new family favorite
picnic spot, or walk, or river-
side hangout. And it’s an invi-
tation for everyone living in
Oregon to step outside and to
safely connect to each other
and the wonder of our lands.”
The land is a portion of
more than 350,000 acres coali-
tion members have protected.
“What was included in this
map shows what we felt like
a community was safe and
accessible to bring commu-
nity members,” Beamer said.
She noted that among the
land not included is habi-
tat that could be considered
more sensitive, such as wet-
land areas.
“These kind of represent
the crown jewels people can
enjoy safely,” she said.
The idea behind the map
was one that formulated about
a year ago from a desire to
show more places to more
people.
“After this last year, we
knew there was a thirst for
seeing some of Oregon’s spe-
cial places and sharing our
community with more Ore-
gonians,” she said. “This is
a map, but it is also a story
about this incredible commu-
nity of organizations.”
They are locations, Beamer
added, that are not necessarily
featured through other state
entities.
“They are often hidden
gems. They are not necessar-
ily found on the Travel Ore-
gon website,” she said. “I per-
sonally have been astounded
the last eight years going to
these places that are so spe-
cial. It was the perfect moment
to launch something that we
could get out there and con-
nect them to local land trusts.”
As for whether The Ore-
gon I Am adds to its map,
Beamer wants that to be the
case.
“My hope is that we con-
tinue to expand it and update it
on a continual basis,” she said.
“I know Wallowa Land Trust,
The Nature Conservancy and
other groups are always look-
ing at new places. I’m assum-
ing there will be more.”
And she hopes it helps the
communities around these
locations, including in Wal-
lowa County.
“Anyone who lives in Wal-
lowa County knows what a
special place it is,” she said. “I
think Oregonians know there
are really incredible gems to
be visited. By having this on
this map it really brings to
light — it’s a call to adventure,
come, stay and invest in the
community. Anytime a map is
produced and excites people
it’s an opportunity to support
local businesses.”
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
A7
Enterprise puts hold on any new Airbnbs
Enacts 90-day
moratorium
with possible
extension
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — A
90-day moratorium on any
new Airbnbs in Enterprise
was approved by the City
Council during its meeting
Monday, May 10.
A resolution affi rm-
ing the three-month ban
with the option to extend
it for another 90 days was
approved
unanimously,
despite some disagreement
between council members
over the rights of property
owners.
City Administrator Lacey
McQuead said she had
reached out to Airbnb own-
ers to get their input with
only limited response.
“The Planning Commis-
sion held a meeting. I sent
out nine invites to Airbnb
owners within the city of
Enterprise,” McQuead said.
“There are 16 Airbnbs so
that means seven of them
are not registered with us.
Out of the nine, one cou-
ple showed up, but I did get
some input from some other
Airbnb owners. (Enterprise
resident) Stacy Green also
attended the Planning Com-
mission meeting. There was
great conversation between
them — they happened to
be neighbors, so the one she
was concerned about had
someone attending.”
Still, McQuead seemed
disappointed more Airbnb
owners hadn’t responded.
“That was it,” she said.
“Even with all the advertis-
ing and invitations to come
to the Planning Commission
meeting and I invited them
to come to this meeting, as
well. That was all that we
received.”
NEOEDD assessment
discussed
But one of the main issues
seemed to be the availability
of aff ordable housing.
McQuead presented a
letter from the Northeast
Oregon Economic Devel-
opment District that she
asked Mayor Ashley Sulli-
van to read into the record.
The letter was largely about
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Enterprise city Administrator Lacey McQuead, left, talks to Mayor Ashley Sullivan, center,
and Public Works Director Ronnie Neil during the Enterprise City Council’s meeting Monday,
May 10, 2021.
short-term vacation rentals
in residential zones and the
economic impact of them.
The NEOEDD recently con-
ducted a Community Needs
Assessment to assess the
economic impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Since
January, NEOEDD con-
ducted more than 70 inter-
views with a wide variety
of community leaders and
organizations.
“Like many other rural
areas, housing-related chal-
lenges are widespread.”
Among the results of the
assessment were:
• More aff ordable hous-
ing is needed for workforce
and moderate-income fam-
ilies and individuals. A lack
exists due to the conversion
of residential housing to
tourism lodging by absentee
property owners and second
homeowners.
• Limited rental options
are available for tenants due
to them being priced out of
units because of increasing
property values.
The letter also cited the
real-dollar impacts.
• People working in low-
er-wage jobs … have been
disproportionately impacted
by the pandemic. The major-
ity of jobs in the region
pay less than $15 per hour,
while two adults working
full time would each need
to earn at least $16.06 per
hour to cover basic needs in
a household with one child,
$19.88 per hour for two chil-
dren and $23.09 an hour for
three children.
• Lack of aff ordable
workforce housing, an aging
population, the high cost of
living and underemploy-
ment have negative eff ects
on retaining a workforce.
The letter stated that since
the city already has zoning
ordinances, “education and
outreach could help spread
understanding of the permit-
ting requirements involved
and the process by which
confl icts are addressed.”
The NEOEDD also urged
the city to review Hood Riv-
er’s example. That city rec-
ognized the benefi ts both
of visitor lodging and the
downside of converting lim-
ited housing to visitor use.
Councilmen
David
Elliott and Rick Freeman
had a diff erence of opinion
on property owners being
able to do what they want
with their property.
“Some of these places are
just used as drop-off sites for
drug dealers because they
know no one is living there,”
Elliot said, citing research he
had done.
Freeman questioned the
high rents some had cited,
saying he owns two rentals
and charges $800 a month
for each, considerably lower
than the oft-cited fi gure of
$1,200 a month.
But both voted with the
rest of the council to vote
in favor of the 90-day mor-
atorium. This came after the
Planning Commission met
with city attorney Wyatt
Baum to determine how any
change in municipal code
should be conducted. The
council expects to gather
more information during the
90-day moratorium to deter-
mine if it warrants extension.
McQuead said interest in
Airbnbs hasn’t subsided.
“In the time between the
last council meeting and
the Planning Commission
meeting, I’ve had seven
phone calls from people in
the city of Enterprise inter-
ested in opening Airbnbs,”
she said. “Three of them
were approved based on
the fact that they submitted
their applications prior to
the meeting; the rest of them
had not. … Every single one
of the persons interested in
an Airbnb are in a residen-
tial zone.”
Concerns over where the
Airbnb owners would live
also was an issue.
“The biggest issue we
face right now is that a lot
of people are moving out of
town and they’re wanting
to turn their property into
Airbnbs,” McQuead said.
“The commission’s con-
cerns were that the proper-
ty’s not going to be taken
care of. Five other people
who called me are not even
going to be in the state of
Oregon anymore. That was
a huge concern to the com-
mission. Beyond that, the
majority are up around the
school, so they weren’t com-
fortable enough just leaving
things as they are — allow-
ing things to continue —
without further review of the
concerns.”
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HATS OFF TO
WALLOWA COUNTY’S
CLASS OF 2021
you rock!
To advertise in the Wallowa County Chieftain
Contact Jennifer Cooney jcooney@wallowa.com • 541-805-9630
209 NW First St., Enterprise OR • 541-426-4567 • wallowa.com